Martinez v. Dretke
| Citation | 426 F.Supp.2d 403 |
| Decision Date | 29 March 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. SA-03-CA-665-FB.,SA-03-CA-665-FB. |
| Parties | David MARTINEZ, TDCJ No. 999173, Petitioner, v. Douglas DRETKE, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Texas |
David Martinez, Livingston, TX, pro se.
Anne More Burnham, The Law Offices of Ann Burnham, San Antonio, TX, Nancy Blair Barohn, Attorney at Law, Kansas City, MO, for Petitioner.
Fredericka Sargent, Austin, TX, for Respondent.
Petitioner David Martinez filed this federal habeas corpus action pursuant to Title 28 U.S.C. Section 2254 challenging his October, 1995, Bexar County capital murder conviction and sentence of death. For the reasons set forth below, petitioner is entitled to neither federal habeas corpus relief nor a Certificate of Appealability from this Court.
Late on the evening of July 10, 1994, 11-year-old Belinda Prado lay down to watch television on the living room couch of the home she shared with her mother Carolina and her 14-year-old brother Eric.1 Eric fell asleep on a mattress on the floor in the living room while Carolina slept in her bedroom.2 Later that night, the petitioner, who had been staying with Carolina, and another man whom Belinda had never seen before came to her home.3 The other man left after 15-20 minutes and Belinda saw the petitioner go to her mother's bedroom.4 Early on the morning of July 11, 1994, Belinda awoke to the sound of a baseball bat striking something in the living room.5 Belinda saw the petitioner, who was dressed only in a pair of boxer shorts, repeatedly strike Eric in the head with a baseball bat.6 Belinda saw blood flying as petitioner beat Eric with the bat.7 When Belinda asked petitioner "to behave," petitioner told her to be quiet or he would kill her, too.8 Fearful for her life, Belinda asked where her mother was and petitioner replied Carolina was in the shower.9 When Belinda looked in the bathroom, however, she did not see her mother there.10
Petitioner forced Belinda into Eric's bedroom at knife-point and tied her to the bed.11 Petitioner was dressed in a white shirt, a pair of black pants, a leather vest Belinda recognized as belonging to her uncle, and a pair of boots.12 Before leaving the house, petitioner gave Belinda a handwritten note and directed her to take the note to her grandmother, who lived a short distance down the street.13 Petitioner's handwritten note, which was admitted into evidence at petitioner's trial, read 14 Still fearful for her life, Belinda waited several minutes after petitioner left the house before she took his note to her grandparents' home.15 Belinda gave her grandmother petitioner's note and accompanied her grandparents back to her home, where she learned her mother was dead in her bedroom.16
Carolina Prado's mother, Rosa Ramirez, testified at petitioner's trial as follows: (1) she first met petitioner in June, 1994, when Carolina introduced petitioner to her and informed her mother she and petitioner were going to live together17; (2) she gave petitioner a black tie, one of her other daughters gave petitioner a white shirt, and Carolina helped petitioner find work at a nearby grocery store18; (3) Carolina was divorced from Eric and Belinda's father, with whom the two children had stayed for several weeks prior to date of the murders19 (4) around 5:10 a.m. on the morning of the murders, petitioner telephoned her and informed her Carolina was tired and did not plan to go to work that day20; (5) she had no difficulty understanding anything petitioner told her during their brief telephone conversation, and petitioner did not appear to her to have slurred his speech21; (6) around 8:30 a.m. the same morning, Belinda rang her door bell and, when she answered the door, Belinda, who appeared nervous, handed petitioner's note and told her Eric had a lot of blood on his head22; (7) as she and Belinda walked down to Carolina's house, Belinda told her Carolina was at work23; (8) when they arrived at Carolina's home, Belinda directed her to go inside but Belinda refused to enter the house24; (9) she entered the house and walked into the living room, where she found Eric lying dead with a towel covering his head25; (10) when she lifted the towel, she observed that Eric's head was "broken," his brains were "all over the place," and there was "lots of blood"26; (11) after her husband entered the house and observed Eric, they walked back to their home where her husband called 911 and then called Carolina's place of employment27; (12) by the time they returned to Carolina's home, a police officer had sealed the house and would not allow them to enter28; (13) the officer told her there was a dead woman in the back bedroom29; (14) she observed drops of blood on the curtains and window of Carolina's bedroom30; and (15) she never again saw Carolina.31
San Antonio Police Officers who arrived at the scene found Eric lying dead from obvious head injuries in the living room and Carolina dead from even more gruesome head injuries in the blood-drenched bedroom.32 Police officers also found what appeared to be a bloody baseball bat covered by a towel on a living room chair.33
An autopsy established Carolina Prado: (1) sustained a large contusion on her right shoulder and arm, a bruise on the back of her elbow, bruising of the eyelids secondary to a massive skull fracture, and the right side of her head caved in due to blunt trauma; (2) suffered multiple fractures in all areas of the skull, including behind the eye and at the base of the skull; (3) suffered a massive stellate or multi-rayed laceration on the right side of her head with multiple loose fragments of skull; (4) lost approximate one-half of her brain tissue from her cranial cavity due to massive blunt force trauma; and (5) died as a result of multiple, massive skull fractures and severe underlying brain injuries.34
An autopsy established Eric Prado: (1) sustained a large contusion in the right parietal occipital area above and behind the right ear accompanied by a large laceration due to bony skull fragments and brain matter protruding from the defect, as well two smaller lacerations just behind the larger one; (2) suffered a hinge fracture laterally across the base of the brain from ear to ear; (3) was likely rendered unconscious immediately and died almost immediately after he was assaulted; (4) received "a tremendous blow" by something heavy; (5) did not show any sign of defensive injuries; and (6) died as a result of cranial cerebral injuries, including severe fractures of the skull and severe underlying brain injuries.35
At approximately 3:30 a.m. on July 13, 1994, San Marcos Police Officers arrested petitioner on a capital murder warrant at the residence of petitioner's grandmother.36 Upon his arrest, petitioner repeatedly gave police a fictitious name even after they discovered his identification in his back pocket and noted the identifying tattoos on petitioner's arm.37 Immediately upon his arrest, petitioner received his Miranda warnings and gave a nod to indicate he understood same.38 Following his arrest, while police were examining a baseball bat they found in the bedroom where petitioner had been arrested, petitioner volunteered a comment along the lines of "that's not what you're looking for" or "that's not it."39
During the brief drive to the Hays County Law Enforcement Center from the residence where petitioner had been arrested, petitioner: (1) asked if he were going to San Antonio that night and, when the officer driving the vehicle indicated negatively, petitioner volunteered that he had known there were police officers outside watching the house and that he could have done something if he had wished to do so; (2) spontaneously inquired "who ratted on me?" and, when the officer driving the vehicle responded the matter was in the papers, petitioner sat up straight, appeared to be proud, and later volunteered "I killed them just like cockroaches"; and (3) spoke English without difficulty and displayed no slurred speech, smell of alcohol, or other overt sign of intoxication.40
Much later on the morning of July 13, 1994, a pair of San Antonio Police homicide detectives traveled to San Marcos to interview petitioner but were forced to wait several hours while petitioner went before a local magistrate.41 While they waited, the two detectives: (1) went to the residence where petitioner had been arrested, (2) obtained consent from petitioner's grandmother and uncle to search the residence, (3) took custody of a backpack petitioner's grandmother indicated belonged to petitioner, (4) took custody of a Dallas Cowboys baseball cap and a pair of tennis shoes, both of which Belinda Prado testified belonged to her brother Eric, and (5) took custody of a shirt and pair of trousers petitioner's uncle indicated belonged to petitioner.42 Inside the backpack, the detectives found a black leather vest which Belinda Prado testified at trial belonged to one of her uncles.43
The San Antonio homicide detectives returned to the Hays County Law Enforcement Center and interviewed petitioner. At approximately 12:30 p.m., after again receiving his Miranda warnings, petitioner agreed to be interviewed and signed a waiver of his rights.44 In his written confession, petitioner stated, in pertinent part as follows:
I want to talk to you about what I remember about the murder...
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